A gift for your hunting buddies

The lightweight neck gaiter is something I really like. Easy to get embroidered or screen printed with something meaningful to your group of buddies.
 
I love opinel folding knives…especially the blade length of around 5”…great filet knife for breasting birds. Was given one on a fishing trip 20+ years ago, a prized possession! Not much $, either!
 
I have read almost all the recommendations I love 2 ideas the most engraved Knives and other one custom letterman jackets. I second the varsity jacket idea with customised patch work. I have a friend who can help me out for this
Letterman jackets??? Ya everyone want to walk around like a 17 yr old being part of Team Roosta. I think there takking about Leatherman multi tools.
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Area Code hat for where your group hunts or is from. I've seen them in stores, and there is an ETSY shop that will make them up.

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My wife show me a pic of door mats that had a pheasant scene and were customizable, she even thought they were neat. Etsy I think. Put a woman in-charge of this project.

BB is right on a decent knife to clean/fillet pheasants with. I have a PF Browning folder/lock-back knife they gave with a membership or maybe a modest additional donation, and I have been using that knife almost exclusives to clean my birds with since I received it.
 
My wife show me a pic of door mats that had a pheasant scene and were customizable, she even thought they were neat. Etsy I think. Put a woman in-charge of this project.

BB is right on a decent knife to clean/fillet pheasants with. I have a PF Browning folder/lock-back knife they gave with a membership or maybe a modest additional donation, and I have been using that knife almost exclusives to clean my birds with since I received it.
Question? Why give gifts to your hunting buddies? Isn’t the experience of hunting with you enough of a gift? Maybe gifts are needed to get them to go with you?
 
Don't pull me into this gift giving, I am just making suggestions for the OP. The few guys I will hunt with would not need any gifts from me. I think if I provided gifts they would question that act and think I was going to ask for a big favor or something was wrong with me. I don't exchange gifts with my buddies (even at Christmas or birthdays), we might buy each others lunch, but no gifts with a card...that must be a city kid thing, I am just an old no-cultured midwest farm kid. Maybe this is a situation that one of the group members is footing the bill for the hunt and it is more of an extended way to say "thanks", I could get behind that. If you are more "financially fit" than the others, maybe don't try it, it could come-off wrong...if you aren't, maybe just don't do it. Maybe a better idea for an employer to do for employees type of relationship, but hey, times are changing! There are some good ideas posted here if you go for it.
 
For what it's worth, I think it's kind of a neat idea. I prefer to hunt by myself, & my dog is a dependent mooch, regardless of his status with the IRS, so I'm safe from having/wanting to by gifts (fancy shotgun shells, boots, etc. for myself notwithstanding). But if I hunted w/ some other guys & wanted to give them some type of memento, I don't think the people I know would find it weird. I think they'd appreciate the gesture, as long as it was kept sort of small. How about something AFTER your trip? Make special effort to get a few nice pictures of your group of guys/dogs/pheasants, & have an 8x10 framed for everyone. Prints from Costco are dirt cheap & so's a halfway decent frame from Walmart. I really love looking at pictures of my hunts & do it often.
 
For what it's worth, I think it's kind of a neat idea. I prefer to hunt by myself, & my dog is a dependent mooch, regardless of his status with the IRS, so I'm safe from having/wanting to by gifts (fancy shotgun shells, boots, etc. for myself notwithstanding). But if I hunted w/ some other guys & wanted to give them some type of memento, I don't think the people I know would find it weird. I think they'd appreciate the gesture, as long as it was kept sort of small. How about something AFTER your trip? Make special effort to get a few nice pictures of your group of guys/dogs/pheasants, & have an 8x10 framed for everyone. Prints from Costco are dirt cheap & so's a halfway decent frame from Walmart. I really love looking at pictures of my hunts & do it often.
Every year after we return I have a calendar made with pics from our trip for my hunting buddy. Nothing to it and that way every month he gets a new reminder from the trip.
 
Large prints of pics is a great idea. I hunted last year with some of our “core” group, but had some new guys added. I take a lot of pics. Try to get lots of candids, something more than “end of day pile of birds” pic.

Had tons printed from 4x6s to large prints. Had them sent to our group organizer and he distributed to everybody. They were a big hit.

Mpix.com is easy to use and the quality is substantially better than anything printed by Walmart or Walgreens.
 
I’ll make a suggestion: I started using ear protection this fall after having my ears ring all winter and spring and summer. I heard about orvis ear plugs for $24 that allow you to hear low intensity sounds like grass moving and birds flushing, but provide some protection from gunshots. They come in a canister with a screw top that’s the size of chap stick tube and can be attached to your key ring, which is where mine is. They come with 2 sized inserts so you get a good fit. I’ve worn mine on every hunt this fall, including my 5 mile walk for ruffs yesterday here in Duluth…those flushes sounded like f-16’s taking off! $24….great gift! Use hearing protection guys, wish I had started sooner…🍺 I also bought decibulz ear plugs which you heat up in boiling water and form fit to
your ear canal, and I did that fitting, but I haven’t used them yet…about $50. They are probably a bit better, but the orvis version is so convenient. Shooting at waterfowl 25-50 times in a morning vs 5-15 shots throughout a day at upland birds may cause me to use better protection, but using anything is a huge step up from 40 years of no protection while hunting.
 
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